# B How would you pronounce ħ?

1. Jan 13, 2017

### Emily111

I'm translating a fascinating science movie script, and there is ħ - Planck's constant in it. That text will be read aloud, so I cannot just write ħ, because the speaker will choke. He/she will probably have little idea about physics.

Is it true, that only ħ (in italics), the reduced Planck's constant, is pronounced h-bar? If so, how do you spell the regular ħ?

2. Jan 13, 2017

### ZapperZ

Staff Emeritus
I've seen odd questions in the many years I've been here, but this has got to rank among the top.

Shouldn't they be pronounced the SAME way? The only difference is the typesetting. That has "no sound". Can you produce a citation where the italics and non-italics symbols have different pronunciation and represents different things?

Zz.

3. Jan 13, 2017

### Emily111

OK Not sure why, but I thought ħ is Planck's constant, and ħ is reduced Planck's constant. You are dealing with a laywoman here. I know better now, and I'd be happy if someone would delete this thread.

4. Jan 13, 2017

### anorlunda

If I understand the question right, it is pronounced "h bar".

5. Jan 13, 2017

### TeethWhitener

Planck's constant is $h$, the reduced Planck constant is $\hbar = \frac{h}{2\pi}$.

6. Jan 13, 2017

### PeroK

Just plain $h$ is Planck's constant. In Quantum Mechanics $h$ appears divided by $2\pi$ all the time. At some point, someone must have got fed up writing $\frac{h}{2\pi}$, and the reduced Planck's constant came about: "h-bar" $\hbar = \frac{h}{2\pi}$.

7. Jan 13, 2017

### Dr Transport

one of my professors called it h-a-srash

8. Jan 13, 2017

### Staff: Mentor

No need to delete -- it has been useful to summarize the difference...

9. Jan 13, 2017

### BvU

Getting used to this nerdy culture, Emily ?